Emily Ramberger

Hi, Im Ashley and my beloved sister-in-law Emily has stage 5 Kidney Failure and is currently on dialysis while waiting for a kidney. I am running a campaign to raise money through the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with a an upcoming Kidney transplant.

Emily’s Story

My name is Emily Ramberger. I’m 34 years old, a wife to my husband Nathan, and a mom to our two beautiful girls—Piper, who is 7, and Darcy, who is 3. Nathan and I met in college in 2011 and were married in 2017. We’ve built a life centered around family, faith, and the outdoors.

Last July, what I thought was just a bad headache and neck pain changed everything. I went to urgent care, where they found my blood pressure was dangerously high and sent me straight to the ER. After six days in the hospital, I learned my kidneys were already in stage 3 failure. By November, I had progressed to stage 5 kidney failure. While I don’t have an official diagnosis, doctors believe it is IgA nephropathy. There is no family history of kidney disease, and we never saw this coming.

I am currently on peritoneal dialysis (PD), which allows me to do treatments at home. Choosing PD has given me more flexibility and has helped me stay present for my girls. Even so, dialysis is a constant part of our lives. My husband, who is a self-employed forester, has taken on so much more caring for me, managing the house, and still providing for our family. I couldn’t do this without him.

I’ve worked for seven years as an instructional assistant with the Chester County Intermediate Unit in special education preschool classrooms. Although I have a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology, my heart led me to helping children. I’ve worked with students with multiple disabilities, autism, and now developmental delays. After a traumatic birth with my youngest daughter, I chose to step back to work two days a week so I wouldn’t miss these precious years. Being a mom is my greatest joy.

As a family, we love the simple things—fishing together, camping in our RV, visiting my husband’s hunting cabin in Snowshoe, PA, exploring state parks, traveling to Chincoteague, VA and making trips to Vermont to see my family. We fill our time with day trips like the Pennsylvania Farm Show and quiet nights at home reading.

Over the past year, my sister has been going through a long laundry list of medical appointments to see if she can be a direct transplant. She is working with a team at Boston Mass General as she lives in Vermont. I am working with a team at Jefferson Institute in Philadelphia. We are in the final stages of determining a MATCH! My sister has been deemed a “good candidate” and can donate in general. Both medical teams are coordinating to get a map of the antibodies in both sets of blood samples to see if any of her antibodies are programmed to attack any of the antigens in my blood. If any of them are predicted to attack my antigens, then I cannot do a direct donation with my sister. At this time I can go with the back-up plan of indirect donation. If we are unfortunately not compatible, she will still donate a kidney to another person waiting on the list in my name.

A transplant would mean freedom—freedom from dialysis, freedom to travel without planning treatments, freedom to simply be a more energetic, present mom. It would mean getting back to the life we love and the adventures still waiting for us. If you feel called to learn more about becoming a donor, you could change not just my life, but my children’s lives too. Thank you for reading my story and for being part of our hope.

The Cost

We are starting this campaign to raise money to cover the costs that are not covered by insurance. According to a Milliman Research Report, the estimated cost of a kidney transplant in 2025 before insurance is $446,800 in the United States. The cost breakdown is as follows.

• Transplant medical care needs$30,900 (30 days)

• Organ procurement$135,400

• Hospital admission for transplant $142,500

• Physician cost for transplant$22,100

• Post-transplant medical care needs$88,200 (180 days)

• Immunosuppressants and other medications$27,700

Insurance covers some of this but there are high bills with every medical procedure.

Out of Pocket Costs

• Health insurance premiums, deductibles, and co-pays

• Pre-transplant medications

• Unexpected pre-transplant hospitalizations

• Medical travel and temporary lodging while you are being listed for a transplant

• Medical travel and temporary lodging while you receive the transplant

• Relocation or moving expenses due to the transplant

• Mileage, tolls, and parking fees for transplant-related medical travel

• Caregiver costs, including lost work

• Living donor costs, including lost work, transplant testing, and post-transplant medical care

• Post-transplant immunosuppressants, which a transplant recipient must take for the rest of their life

Most kidney transplant candidates cannot cover the costs associated with a kidney transplant and post-transplant care without assistance. That’s where Help Hope Live comes in: a nonprofit to help kidney transplant candidates to start community-led fundraising campaigns so they can receive the gift of life.

What can you do?

Please donate to Help Hope Live in Emily’s name today, and ask your friends and family to give, too! Click the donate button at the top of the page or mail a check to the address listed on the left. Please make sure to indicate “In honor of Emily Ramberger” to ensure the funds will support her medical care and expenses.

We would love to plan some fundraisers in Emily’s name, too, so if you can help with that, please contact his Ashley at [email protected]. Thank you for your generous support!

We chose to fundraise with Help Hope Live in part because donations are tax deductible for contributors and will only be used to cover medical and related expenses.